Metro light-rail station cooled by solar power

by Emily Gersema - Jul. 21, 2011 12:00 AMArizona Business Gazette

One of the stations on the Metro light rail gives travelers a cool refuge from the desert heat.

The station at Third and Washington streets near the Phoenix Convention Center is cooled by a solar-powered water-cooling system that Mayor Phil Gordon says is a prototype for systems he hopes will be installed at other light-rail and bus stations.

The cooling fans above the seats on platforms were turned on just in time for the rush of passengers during Major League Baseball's All-Star week. "This was at no cost to the taxpayers," Gordon said.

The $300,000 project was paid with a mixture of funding from the company leading the project, NRG Thermal, and the contractors who worked on the project, said David Gaier, a spokesman for the company in Princeton, N.J.

Gordon said he was interested in adding the solar-run cooling systems when he saw similar systems in Dubai.

Jim Lodge of NRG said the chilled water from an NRG chilled-water plant near downtown Phoenix is pumped through coils in the upper section of the station. Solar panels on top of the station collect energy to power a set of fans, which blow the cooled air onto passengers waiting for the train. Passengers can turn the cooler on by pushing a button.

NRG officials said they will cover the cost of maintaining the system at the station.

Gordon said other similar cooling systems could be added to the Arizona State University Downtown Phoenix buildings.

The NRG Energy Center is a chilled-water plant that has, since 2001, provided chilled water for cooling systems at 34 downtown buildings, including Chase Field, the Phoenix Convention Center, CityScape and the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel.